We, Foreign Ministers of Mexico, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Turkey,
and Australia (MIKTA), are deeply saddened by the loss of many lives and
the suffering caused as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We stand in full
solidarity with each other and the international community as a whole in
tackling this unprecedented global threat and building a more resilient
future.

We underscore that health is essential for human beings to reach their
fullest potential and for nations to achieve a robust and sustainable
development and, furthermore, is a cornerstone for the well-being and
security of the international community. We will spare no effort to
effectively curb the COVID-19 pandemic.

Against this backdrop, we emphasize the crucial role of relevant
international organizations, in particular the World Health Organization
(WHO), in coordinating the international response to the COVID-19 pandemic,
including the protection of front-line healthcare workers and the delivery
of medical supplies, especially diagnostic tools, personal protective
equipments, treatments, medicines, and vaccines, in a timely and effective
manner. We reaffirm our commitment to implementing the International Health
Regulations (2005).

We also encourage relevant international organizations to swiftly and
decisively scale up the efforts within their mandates to facilitate the
delivery of assistance to all countries in need of help, where health
systems may be less able to cope with the pandemic. We emphasize the
importance of extending help to groups made more vulnerable by COVID-19,
including persons with disabilities, refugees, migrants, IDPs and women and
girls, while paying also particular attention to the needs of host
communities. In this regard, we welcome the Global Humanitarian Response
Plan for COVID-19 launched on 25 March by the United Nations Secretary
General.

We welcome the strong solidarity expressed by the Group of 20 (G20) at the
recent Extraordinary Virtual Summit and their commitment to enhance policy
coordination in the wake of the global health crisis. MIKTA members,
together with other G20 countries, will employ all available policy tools
to minimize the economic and social damage from the pandemic, restore
global growth, maintain market stability, and strengthen resilience, while
paying also particular attention to the most affected sectors, including
those working in the informal economy as well as small and medium
enterprises. We are confident that robust international cooperation
galvanized by the G20, will serve to protect human lives and minimize
impact on people's livelihood, whilst also preventing any form of
discrimination, racism, and xenophobia.

We agree that where emergency measures designed to tackle COVID-19 are
necessary, they must comply with international human rights law and be
targeted, proportionate, transparent, non-discriminatory and temporary.
They should not create unnecessary barriers to trade or disruption to
global supply chains, and should be consistent with WTO principles and
rules. We emphasize the importance of transparency and our commitment to
notify the WTO of any trade‑related measures taken, all of which will
enable global supply chains to continue to function in this crisis. Noting
the need for expediting the recovery of the global economy, we will also
work together with the international community to coordinate responses in
ways that avoid unnecessary interference with international traffic and
trade. We will take into consideration the need to facilitate the movement
of people and goods for humanitarian, scientific and essential business
activities to the extent that each country’s disease control efforts may
not be undermined.

We recognize that COVID-19 is a new disease that requires a collaborative
response, including sharing of information and best practices between
nations. We stand ready to share our respective experiences of addressing
the pandemic in an open, transparent, and democratic manner. Noting that
openness, transparency, and democracy are key factors in bringing people on
board with measures designed to protect themselves and the wider
population, we will deepen our collaboration to mobilize all innovative
tools at our disposal to tackle the pandemic. We will continue to work
together with the international community to expedite the development of
diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines, adhering to the objectives of
efficacy, safety, equity, accessibility and affordability, while also
cooperating to further strengthen health systems in vulnerable countries.

Sincerely hoping that the COVID-19 pandemic will soon be brought under
control and having fully realized the impact of the pandemic on livelihoods
and development, we are strongly committed to working together in the
spirit of solidarity and cooperation to promote better preparedness for a
future epidemic while swiftly responding to the current one. To this end,
we will explore potential ways of cooperation including
information-sharing, capacity-building, and technical assistance among us
and with other countries. We expect fruitful discussion on our path ahead,
including at future MIKTA meetings.

As a cross-regional and new innovative partnership, MIKTA will continue to
play a leading role in promoting global health, protecting public goods,
and strengthening global governance.